The Printed Page

Title: The Bride Collector Author/website(s): Ted Dekker 432 pages Publisher: Center Street Publication date: April ’10 Genre: Suspense, faith-based Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading New-to-me author: No Would I recommend this book: DNF’d @ pg. 216; I’d recommend the author just not this particular book Would I read more from this author: I’m willing to give him another try because I enjoyed his last two novels – The BoneMan’s Daughters and Burn Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review.

FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he’s picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It’s there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person’s life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise’s help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most ‘sane people’ sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls…or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector’s next target.

The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it’s too late?

(The Bride Collector was provided to me by Miriam at Hachette Book Group. I was not paid and I’m giving away my copy next week as part of Mr. Dekker’s blog tour (4/6) )

Title: The Tulip Virus Author/website(s): Daniëlle Hermans (is in her native language; I didn’t find an English translation) 278 pages Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: April ’10 (United States) / 2008 Internationally Genre: Mystery; a mix of contemporary and historical settings Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading New-to-me author: Yes Would I recommend this book: I would Would I read more from this author: She has a new release in January of 2011, De man van Manhattan, in her native language which from the cover alone I’m excited to get my hands on Journal notes: So I was a bit hesitant when I spotted the bit about the story being translated as some times that doesn’t work so well. No worries with The Tulip Virus as the translation was flawless. I really enjoyed the mysteries, both historical and contemporary. And I learned about a time in history that I knew absolutely nothing about before reading The Tulip Virus. The buying, market speculation and collapse of the tulip trade in 1637. Fortunes made and lost in mere days. And sadly that this beautiful tulip is caused by a virus. It was a very enjoyable book to read and kept me turning pages. And of course the cover is gorgeous.

In 1636 Alkmaar, Holland, Wouter Winckel’s brutally slaughtered body is found in the barroom of his inn, an antireligious pamphlet stuffed in his mouth. Winckel was a respected tulip-trader and owned the most beautiful collection of tulips in the United Republic of the Low Countries, including the most coveted and expensive bulb of them all, the Semper Augustus. But why did he have to die and who wanted him dead?

In 2007 London, history seems to be repeating itself. Dutchman Frank Schoeller is found in his home by his nephew, Alec. Severely wounded, he is holding a 17th-century book about tulips, seemingly a reference to the reason for his death moments later. With the help of his friend Damien Vanlint, an antique dealer from Amsterdam, Alec tries to solve the mystery, but soon comes to realize that he and his friend’s own lives are now in danger.

The Tulip Virus was provided to me by Bridget at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to another book blogger

The most sought after tulip of the auction - Semper Augustus

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

*** RIF: Kindle eBook (pdf file) The Hellraiser of the Hollywood Hills (McAfee Twins, book #5) by Jennifer Colt (new-to-me author/author contact)

Twin private investigators Kerry and Terry McAfee are used to working the sleazy side of Hollywood, but they get more than they bargained for when they save celebrity “It” girl Bethany from aggressive paparazzi and end up wanted for kidnapping. The charges are dropped, thanks to their lawyer and friend Eli Weintraub and a convenient reality television show taping, and the whole thing may have been a publicity stunt for Bethany’s up-coming tour, but something’s not adding up. Bethany’s manager hires the twins as the star’s latest pair of bodyguards, only to have Bethany disappear in a stolen car. With the star on the loose and in disguise, the twins have their work cut out for them. Then people start turning up dead.

RIF: ARC – Adopt me Snowbound by Blake Crouch (publicist contact)

For Will Innis and his daughter, Devlin, the loss was catastrophic. Every day for the past five years, they wonder where she is, if she is—Will’s wife, Devlin’s mother—because Rachael Innis vanished one night during an electrical storm on a lonely desert highway, and suspected of her death, Will took his daughter and fled.

Now, Will and Devlin live under different names in another town, having carved out a new life for themselves as they struggle to maintain some semblance of a family.

When one night, a beautiful, hard-edged FBI agent appears on their doorstep, they fear the worst, but she hasn’t come to arrest Will. “I know you’re innocent,” she tells him, “because Rachael wasn’t the first…or the last.”

Desperate for answers, Will and Devlin embark on a terrifying journey that spans four thousand miles from the desert southwest to the wilds of Alaska, heading unaware into the heart of a nightmare, because the truth is infinitely worse than they ever imagined.

***

What books came into your house last week? You have the choice of using inlinkz or Mr. Linky. With inlinkz you can include a book cover if you’d like along with the link to your Mailbox Monday post (clicking on the image takes you to the blog post.) Duplicate links will not count toward the fundraising efforts.

Don’t forget to fill out either inlinkz or Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

• In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

• In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

***

Read It Forward details

A gripping debut mystery set in contemporary London with roots in 17th century Holland and the mysterious tulip trade.

In 1636 Alkmaar, Holland, Wouter Winckel’s brutally slaughtered body is found in the barroom of his inn, an antireligious pamphlet stuffed in his mouth. Winckel was a respected tulip-trader and owned the most beautiful collection of tulips in the United Republic of the Low Countries, including the most coveted and expensive bulb of them all, the Semper Augustus. But why did he have to die and who wanted him dead?

In 2007 London, history seems to be repeating itself. Dutchman Frank Schoeller is found in his home by his nephew, Alec. Severely wounded, he is holding a 17th-century book about tulips, seemingly a reference to the reason for his death moments later. With the help of his friend Damien Vanlint, an antique dealer from Amsterdam, Alec tries to solve the mystery, but soon comes to realize that he and his friend’s own lives are now in danger.

The Tulip Virus is a fast-paced, fascinating mystery based on the real-life events surrounding the collapse of the tulip bubble in 17th century Holland—the first such occurrence in history—a story that plunges readers deeply into questions of free will, science, and religion, while showing the dark fruits of greed, pride, and arrogance.

***

Ms. Hermans is a new-to-me author. Interesting that my last historical fiction book (Juliet by Anne Fortier) and this one both combine contemporary and historical aspects. It wasn’t planned, just way the the books fell in line.

Title: The Executor Author/website(s): Jesse Kellerman 341 pages Publisher: Putnam Adult Publication date: April ’10 Genre: Suspense Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading New-to-me author: Yes Would I recommend this book: DNF’d @ pg. 15 Would I read more from this author: No Journal notes: Pleasure reading – no review except to say I knew by pg 7 I wasn’t going to read The Executor but I gave it until pg 15. Side note: the only other Kellerman author I have in my Librarything library is a book by his mother Faye Kellerman and that one is also a DNF.

Perpetual graduate student Joseph Geist is at his wit’s end. Recently kicked out of their shared apartment by his girlfriend, he’s left with little more than a half bust of Nietzsche’s head and the realization that he’s homeless and unemployed. He’s hit a dead end on his dissertation; his funding has been cut off. He doesn’t even have a phone. Desperate for some source of income, he searches the local newspaper and finds a curious ad:

CONVERSATIONALIST SOUGHT. SERIOUS APPLICANTS ONLY. PLEASE CALL 617-XXX-XXXX BETWEEN SEVEN A.M. AND TWO P.M. NO SOLICITORS.

And so Joseph meets Alma Spielman: a woman who, with her old-world ways and razor-sharp mind, is his intellectual soul mate. How is he to know that what seems to be the best decision of his life is the one that seals his fate?

The Executor was provided to me by Shelf Awareness. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to another book blogger

A masterful, inventive thriller from a remarkably assured and always surprising young writer.

Perpetual graduate student Joseph Geist is at his wit’s end. Recently kicked out of their shared apartment by his girlfriend, he’s left with little more than a half bust of Nietzsche’s head and the realization that he’s homeless and unemployed. He’s hit a dead end on his dissertation; his funding has been cut off. He doesn’t even have a phone. Desperate for some source of income, he searches the local newspaper and finds a curious ad:

CONVERSATIONALIST SOUGHT. SERIOUS APPLICANTS ONLY. PLEASE CALL 617-XXX-XXXX BETWEEN SEVEN A.M. AND TWO P.M. NO SOLICITORS.

And so Joseph meets Alma Spielman: a woman who, with her old-world ways and razor-sharp mind, is his intellectual soul mate. How is he to know that what seems to be the best decision of his life is the one that seals his fate?

***

Mr. Kellerman is a new-to-me author.

Title: Juliet Author/website(s): Anne Fortier 444 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books Publication date: August ’10 Genre: A mix of contemporary & historical fiction Review book or pleasure reading: Pleasure reading New-to-me author: Yes Would I recommend this book: Yes, yes, yes Would I read more from this author: Yes Journal notes: Loved it! OK it does get a bit melodramatic, in parts, towards the end but then Romeo and Juliet weren’t without their own melodramatic moments. This is a minor quibble about an otherwise very entertaining and highly enjoyable story. And personally I like the new spin on the standard tale of Romeo and Juliet. Some of my most enjoyable reading has come from story lines that mix the contemporary with the historical. If you’re a fan of authors such as Christi Phillips (The Devlin Diary, The Rossetti Letter), Carol Goodman (The Night Villa, The Sonnet Lover) and Lauren Willig (The Pink Carnation series) add Ms. Fortier to your authors to read list. And get your hands on a copy of her debut novel Juliet.

When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a precarious journey into the true history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo turned medieval Siena upside down. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in Shakespeare’s unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse – “A plague on both your houses!” – is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems the only one who can save her from her fate is Romeo… but where is he?

Juliet was provided to me by Quinne at Ballantine Books. I was not paid and this book is being passed along to another book blogger

When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a precarious journey into the true history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo turned medieval Siena upside down. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in Shakespeare’s unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse – “A plague on both your houses!” – is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems the only one who can save her from her fate is Romeo… but where is he?

***

Ms. Fortier is a new-to-me author. I’ve love reading story lines that mix contemporary and historical aspects so I’m very excited to start reading Juliet.

Title: Drink the Tea Author/website(s): Thomas Kaufman 294 pages Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: March ’10 Genre: Mystery Review book or pleasure reading: Review book New-to-me author: Yes Would I recommend this book: Yes Would I read more from this author: If there’s a book #2 in this new series I’ll be reading it Journal notes: I had a bit of a rocky start with Drink the Tea. It didn’t grab my attention right away leaving me wondering if I was going to finish. I seriously thought I might DNF Drink the Tea but the little voice kept at me saying ‘stick it out, it’ll be worth it.’ As the pages turn the mystery deepens and pretty soon I’ve been sucked right into the heart of Gidney’s 2 or 3 day wild ride through murder and political corruption. The more I read the more I found myself liking Gidney and connecting with his story on some level. By the time I turned the last page of Drink the Tea I found myself looking forward for to reading the 2nd book in this promising new P.I. mystery series.

Willis Gidney is a born liar and rip-off artist, an expert at the scam. Growing up without parents or a home, by age twelve Gidney is a successful young man, running his own small empire, until he meets Shadrack Davies. That’s Captain Shadrack Davies, of the DC Police. Davies wants to reform Gidney and becomes his foster father. Though he tries not to, Gidney learns a small amount of ethics from Shad – just enough to bother a kid from the streets for the rest of his life.

Now Gidney’s a PI, walking those same streets. So it’s no surprise that when Gidney’s closest friend, jazz saxophonist Steps Jackson, asks him to find Jackson’s missing daughter, Gidney is compelled to say yes — even though she’s been missing for 25 years. He finds a woman who may be the girl’s mother — and within hours she is killed by persons unknown. The police accuse Gidney of the murder and throw him in jail.

Maybe Gidney should quit while he’s behind. But when his investigation puts him up against a ruthless multi-national corporation, a two-faced congressman, and a young woman desperate to conceal her past, Gidney has no time left for second thoughts. In fact, he may have no time left at all.

Drink the Tea was provided to me by Bridget at Minotaur Books. I was not paid and this book is being donated to my local library

It all started with a book cover. Beautiful book cover art. As most of you know I’m a sucker for beautiful book cover art. So when I saw both these beautiful covers and book descriptions just different enough to lead me to believe that it really was two different books I ordered both books or the same book twice. But that little voice in my head kept nagging at me repeating over and over ‘same book, same book’. Of course I should have listened to voice in my head but I didn’t. Something about hindsight ringing bells here? What book could possibly lead me down the wrong path? The Red Lotus by Pai Kit Fai otherwise known here in the United States as The Concubine’s Daughter. I ordered The Red Lotus from The Book Depository months ago so when my package from across the pond arrived in my mailbox today I was all kinds of excited. And yeah that excitement lasted all of about 30 seconds. Just long enough for me to read the back cover book blurb and see the name Ben Devereaux. Ah **** (the ear blistering I mentioned in my writeup of The Botticelli Secret). So now I have a book with a beautiful cover that I’ve already read and loved. As my library system has copies of The Concubine’s Daughter I’m offering my copy of The Red Lotus to a reader. Just leave a comment at this post and I’ll choose a name at week’s end.

In 1906 Southern China, newborn Li-Xia (Li) is nearly murdered by her elderly father because she is a girl, only to be saved by the specter of a fox fairy. Li lives in a rice shed mostly forgotten, as she wonders about her dead mother, who had been an educated concubine. After Li rebels against attempts to bind her feet, she is sold on her eighth birthday to a silk merchant and finds a temporary family among the female laborers while she dreams of learning to read and write. Capt. Benjamin Jean-Paul Devereaux rescues her by buying her freedom and safe passage on his ship, and she is able to fulfill her dream of literacy. They marry, defying societal norms, but in Hong Kong, Li is assaulted by an enemy of her husband, and fearing for her newborn girl, Siu-Sing, she has the child taken to safety in the mountains. Siu-Sing learns about her lineage and returns to face her own tribulations as WWII is about to begin. Fai’s multigenerational tale has predictable elements, but is nonetheless an engaging and entertaining read.